A notorious conwoman and thief is back behind bars after stealing from Greggs

A conwoman and thief from Derbyshire, who previously fleeced grieving pet owners out of thousands of pounds, has been put back behind bars after stealing cash from Greggs the bakers.
Pictured Emma Bent, formerly of Matlock and Heage, who has been jailed after stealing from Greggs in Matlock.Pictured Emma Bent, formerly of Matlock and Heage, who has been jailed after stealing from Greggs in Matlock.
Pictured Emma Bent, formerly of Matlock and Heage, who has been jailed after stealing from Greggs in Matlock.

Derby Crown Court heard on Monday, July 23, how Emma Bent, 43, formerly of Steep Turnpike, in Matlock, and Heage, stole hundreds of pounds from the tills at the Matlock branch of Greggs where she had been working.

The court was told how the bakery at Crown Square, on Bakewell Road, had not asked Bent if Bent had any previous convictions when she filled out her job application.

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Bent would lodge sales at the cash registers between September 2017 and March 2018 but she did not put through the full amount and she pocketed the difference, according to the court.

Pictured is Derby Crown Court.Pictured is Derby Crown Court.
Pictured is Derby Crown Court.

Sonal Ahya, prosecuting, said the firm claimed she took £2,388 but Bent pleaded guilty to theft from employer of £500.

Jailing her for five months, Judge Jonathan Bennett said: “You are persistently dishonest in the way you conduct your affairs and you have been for a number of years.

“The background to your latest offence is that you were released from custody for a serious offence and while on licence managed to obtain employment with Greggs.

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“You did not have to tell them about your previous convictions and after you got that job you started stealing from them. And you did so persistently.”

In 2011, Bent, formerly of Heage and Matlock, and now of London Road, Gwalchmai, Ynys Mon, Anglesey, in Wales, was jailed for eight months after admitting fraud.

The courts outlined those offences saw her pocket cash given to her to give dogs and cats a proper cremation – but instead she dumped their bodies.

Police had calculated her earnings as £88,000 but she claimed she only had £3,100.

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In February 2016, the mum-of-three was jailed for two-and-half-years for benefit fraud and she was ordered to pay £75,806.41.

Miss Ahya said Bent’s latest offence at Greggs was discovered when a loss prevention officer noticed discrepancies in the takings at the Matlock branch.

Miss Ahya added: “On March 14 she was spoken to by her employer and made full admissions.

“She said she was not putting through the full sales from customers and had pocketed the rest for herself.

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“She told them her daughter had bought a car and she used the money to pay for the insurance.”

Outlining some of her previous convictions, which date back to 1989, Miss Ahya said: “She is no stranger to dishonesty.”

Dan Church, mitigating, said: “This offence is not particularly sophisticated and there was no attempt on her part to offer some spurious explanation.

“She has taken for a number of items and only rang one or two of them through the till.

“When she went for the job she was not required to tell them about her previous convictions on the application form but she did tell the branch she had them.”